Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Coffee Filter Love

I'm sure I am one of the last to hop on the coffee filter bandwagon. I know crafters have been using them in creative ways for a while now. It wasn't until I saw this post at Birds of a Feather that I became obsessed. Heidi is amazing. After finding Heidi's creation I began searching the web for other coffee filter creations. Look at this made by Heather at Pretty Petals. Does this not make you want to stay up all night tonight tea staining filters?
This is my humble attempt at a coffee filter wreath:

It doesn't hold a candle to Heather and Heidi's but I am loving it anyway. I can't decide if I am going to add anything to it or not. I like the simplicity, but I don't know how long I will be able to resist glittering it in some way.
If you decide to try one for yourself I'll share some things I learned along the way after experimenting. To achieve the color I dyed mine using 12 oz. of boiling water, 2 raspberry tea bags and 5 drops of red food coloring. This dyed about 50 filters. I had to do this twice because my wreath took 75 filters. I grabbed the filters in the center and dipped the tips (the ruffled edge of the filter) in the tea/dye and let them sit until the entire filter had absorbed the liquid. Then I layed them on foil to air dry. It took about 3 hours for them to dry. This is how they look drying, they are in the same form that i dipped them in. I put several in the pot of tea at a time. After they dried, I used pins to stick them into a styrofoam wreath form...I hung the wreath over a mirror with red ribbon for Valentine's Day. I plan on leaving it up through the spring and summer and just changing the ribbon and adding to it. Maybe some glittery butterflies for spring! I'll be sure to share my evolving wreath with you. Happy coffee filter dying :)

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About Me

Im a part time preschool teacher and part time stay at home mom who loves to create! I sew a little, paint a little, scrapbook, and decorate. I will embellish anything that stands still. I love anything vintage and anything from anthropolgie. I find inspiration everywhere I go, but my biggest inspiration is my daughter Lilly.